Expert-based or non-partisan EMBs are those which the legal framework requires to be made up of individuals appointed on the basis of their professional standing. In some cases, members of an expert-based EMB may be nominated by political parties or civil society, but this does not imply that such nominees will be directed by their nominating political parties or act in a partisan manner.

Qualifications to be a member of an expert-based EMB may include

• impartiality,
• minimum age,
• professional qualifications, and
• electoral knowledge.

Expert-based EMB members are often eminent public figures renowned for political neutrality with expertise in fields such as law, public administration, political science, or the media. As of 2006, expert-based EMBs can be found in countries such as Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Poland, South Africa, and Thailand. The law in many of these countries provides that EMB members must not have been active in party politics in the recent past, and must not be a political party member whilst a member of the EMB.

Brazil is an example of a judicial EMB: elections there are the responsibility of national and state electoral tribunals, which are considered a specialized segment of the judicial branch, comprising judges of various categories, along with a small number of expert lawyers; below the tribunals, regular judges are detailed for a short time to oversee electoral preparations and operations in each electoral ‘zone’ (district) in the country.

In Canada, the Chief Electoral Officer is not allowed to vote in any federal election or referendum.